High School Sports

APTOS—The mission couldn’t have been any clearer for Aptos senior Caden Prichard who was set to battle Salinas for just the second time in his career. The ace running back helped lift the Mariners past the Cowboys, 44-41, in a thriller that went down to...

Members of the Watsonville High girls’ basketball team weren’t sure whether they’d get a chance to compete in the Central Coast Section playoffs.  But the Wildcatz snuck their way into the Division I bracket technically as the No. 16 seed and will play at No....

For a split second, it seemed like Aptos this past weekend was finally breaking the curse of getting past the opening round in the Central Coast Section playoffs. But instead of knocking in the game-winning goal on a spectacular header in overtime, senior Nami Banks...

The Central Coast Section football playoff brackets are in order and a pair of local schools will represent the area in Friday’s upcoming quarterfinals. Aptos High—tri co-champion of the Pacific Coast Athletic League’s Gabilan Division—and Cypress Division runner-up St. Francis both will extend their season...

The Soquel High School football team paraded onto their home field Wednesday, sandwiched between the school’s band percussion team and the varsity cheerleaders in a special proclamation ceremony after becoming the first football team in Santa Cruz County to win a California Interscholastic Federation...

WATSONVILLE—Watsonville High senior Brooklyn Llamas and the Wildcatz girls’ tennis team last year reached new heights after a successful run to a league championship. The ‘Catz clawed their way through the Pacific Coast Athletic League season undefeated, 12-0, in Cypress Division play and captured a...

Watsonville High announced Thursday that Manny Contreras was named the new football head coach for the upcoming 2024 season. “I always had dreams of becoming a teacher and always had dreams of becoming a head coach of a program,” he said. “Things started falling and...

St. Francis High junior Nash Horton missed the 2023 baseball season due to a major injury to his pitching shoulder.  While still in an arm sling, he was told to jot down any goals he had in mind.  What started as a short list turned into...

SAN FRANCISCO—Aptos High senior Caden Prichard stood on the sideline Friday night as he watched the seconds tick away in his final season.     With tears rolling down his cheeks, he gave every one of his teammates one last hug after the No. 3-seeded Mariners lost...

Pajaro Valley High announced Friday that it has hired Darren Jackson as the new head coach of the girls’ basketball team. Jackson will replace Mark Harris who stepped down from the same position after spending four years at the helm. “My plan is to build off...